Railroad-crossing



2 Shee'ts-Sheet 1.

(No Model.)

v H. C. LOWRIE.

RAILROAD CROSSING.

Patented Peb. 19, 1889.,

NQl 398,269.

(No Model.) 2 sheets-s811998, 2.'

H48. LQWRIL.V

RAILROAD CROSSING. 180.898,289. Patented Feb. 19, 1889.

Moo o 00099 N. PETERS. Phnm-Linmgmpher, wnshinxan, D, C.

ATENi trice,

HARVEY (l. IOIVRIE, OF DENVER, COLORADO.

RAILROAD-CROSSING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 398,269, dated February19, 1889.

Application filed Septemher22, 1828. Serial No. 286,083. (No model.)

To all whom, t may con/cern:

Be it known that I, HARVEY O. LOWRIF, of Denver, in the county ofArapahoe, in the State of Colorado, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Railroad-Crossings; and I do hereby declare that thefollowing specification, taken in connection with the drawings furnishedand forming a part of the same, is a clear, true, 'and completedescription of my invention.

It is well known that grade-crossings are so attended with danger anddelays that public sentiment has demanded their discontinuance whereverit has been deemed practicable to subst-itute bridges or cuts, or both,Afor crossings at surface-grade. Se tar as my knowledge extends,grade-crossings in low-level localitieshave generally been heretoforeemployed, and especially so at points where railroads cross others,because of the impracticability of an ordinary eut, as well as of theelevated grade necessary for crossing a road which is not depressedbelow the average surface-line of the ground traversed by the road. Itis also well known that most low-level regionssuch as river-bottoms andlow-lying lakeprairies-have water-bearing strata so near thesurface-grades that any substantial depth of cut would develop awater-trench, and even if at times suoli a cut should not directly drainadjacent ground it would be liable to be flooded by heavy rain-storms.

The object of my invention is to practically overcome thesedifficulties, and I do this by excavating at a railroad-crossingagraduallydeveloped cut below the surface-grade and having' the desireddepth at the crossing-point,

and providing said cut or road-hed depression with water-excluding sidewalls and bottom, and also with a drainage tank or well at ils lowestpoint, t'rom which ground-water is eX- eluded and into which storm-waterwill be drained, and i'rom which it may from time to time be withdrawnby suitable means provided for that purpose.

'lo more particularly describe my invention, Iwill reifer to theaecompanyingA drawings, in which- Figure l illustrates in plan view myinvention as applied tethccrossingof tworailroads. Fig. 2 illustratesthe grade oi' the graduallydeveloped cut for the lower road and theelethe cut and also a portion of the upper road-A wav.

As here shown, I will term the road A the lower road, and the bridge Bthe roadway -for the upper, it being understood that this latter may bea country road or street or a railroad without in any manner affectingmy invention. Y It is to be assumed, however, that the location ot' thecrossingl is in a locality which would preclude an ordinary cut belowsurface-grade for the lower road, because ol' the liability ot' such ahighwater level as would obviousl y convert the cut into a waterditch,and such a water-level is indicated at the dotted line c.

The eut C for the lower road is gradually developed at an easy inclinefrom each end below the surface-grade until the required depth isattained, this depth beingI of course varied accordin tocircumstances-as, for instance, iE the lower read be depressed at thecrossing to the extent of one-haltl the height needed toatfordproperhead-room for passing' trains and the upper road be elevatedonehalf of said needed height both roads, as a rule, would fairly sharewhatever disadvantages might accrue from their respective variations ingrade above and below the surfacegrade; but these variations would ofcourse be subject to concessions and agreement in each case wheredifferent interests were involved. Il", however, the lower road should-bear the entire luirden ot `grade variation, as

may sometimes be necessary, t-he value oi' my invention would be all themore apparent.

The length ot the cut C will of course be widely varied according to thecharacter and exten t of trafiic on the lower road, and hence no rule ofgrade into and from the cut can be definitely determined, and the sameis true of the width of the eut; but in all cases the side walls, h, andbottom c of said cut are as nearly water-tight as possible; or, in otherwords, as capable as possible of excluding water which would otherwiseenter the cut from adjacent ground. These walls and the bottom may becomposed of any available variety of or cementing, and so, also, mayiron plates be used, if properly united-as, for instance, byriveting-but, as a rule, masonry in good cement will prove mostdesirable.

Having thus provided for the exclusion of 1o earth-water from the cut, lfurther provide for the control of such storm-water as the cut, if leftopen, must naturally receive by constructing at the center of the cut,and at its lowest point a drainage well or tank, D, ac-

cessible through one or more proper openings in its top to suchstorm-water as the cut may receive from time to time. This drainagetankshould in some cases be first constructed so that it may affordopportunity forpumping 2o water therefrom during the making of the cutand putting in the water-tight side walls and bottom, and hence I preferthat said tank be complete in itself and constructed of wood or of iron,and provided with aseries of holes,

d, in its side walls, so that water may enter otherwise than at its topuntil the cutis completed, and then said holes are tightly plugged, thusexcluding all except such storm-water as may fall into the cut from timeto time, care 3o being taken to provide water-tight joints at thejunction of the top of the tank or cistern with the water-tight bottom cof the cut. In such localities as will warrant the use of snow-sheds thelatter may be relied upon for also excluding storm-water from the cut,thus rendering the drainage-tank of little, if any, practical value.

As thus far described, it will be seen that I amply pro vide forrailroad-,crossings at differpecially in those States wherein bylawtrains before crossing another railroad must be brought to a full stop.The removal of water from the drainage-tank will be frequently necessaryin some localities, While in others, where rain or snow seldom falls andthen only in small quantities, the tank may be large enough to requireno emptying, and hence means for pumping are not essential elements inmy invention, although in most cases local pumps operated by steam-poweror by windmills will be used, although a Siphon-pump operated by steamfrom a locomotive at rest over the tank may be used for transferring thewater to the tender. So, also, may the tank be provided with such plugsor gates in its side Walls as may be readily opened and closed, so thatin wet localities the tank may serve as a watering-station, if a steamSiphonor other form of pump be used on the locomotive. In specially wetlocalities l deem it advisable to surround the entire cut with one ormore lines of water-ditches, with a View to collecting water therein forexposure to evaporation.

Having thus described my invention, l claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patentl. The improvement in railroad-crossings, whichconsists in a gradually-developed out or road-bed depression belowsurface-grade to a required depth, and having water-tight walls andbottom and also having a drainage tank or well, in combination with aroadwaybridge crossing said cut at such apoint thereof as will bestafford proper head-room below said bridge for trains passing throughsaid cut.

2. As a means for obviating surface-grade crossings on railroadstraversing low-level wet localities, a gradually-developed cut orroadbed depression,in combination with sidewalls 4o ent grades,regardless of those conditions which have heretofore made crossings atand a bottom for said cut which exclude wagradesseemingly imperative.The expense of ter from entering said road-bed depression 9o mywater-tight cuts will of course be considerfrom the adjacent ground,substantially as able; but, as l believe, the practical advanidescribed. tages incident thereto greatly outweigh the l y HARVEY C.LOVRIE.

matter of initial expenditure, in view of the lVitnesses:

absence of danger to life and property, as l well as the attendanteconomy in time, es-

ANDREW RYAN, JOHN B. HUNTER.

